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Earlier today, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced the first ‘Green List’ countries – where travel from will no longer require quarantine in England. Perhaps the bigger news though is that from 4am on Wednesday 12th May, Turkey, the Maldives, and Nepal, will be added to England’s ‘Red List’.

The Red List means that if you are returning from (or transit) those countries, you have to pay for mandatory hotel quarantine on arrival.

Turkey and the Maldives are both extremely popular destinations, and rely heavily on tourism, so this is a significant blow with the summer now fast approaching. The fact that transiting in Turkey is also included, is particularly bad news for Turkish Airlines.

Bottom line

If Turkey, Qatar and the UAE all continue to stay on the Red List, there are going to be serious issues in terms of connections, even when more destinations open up. Let’s hope we see the situation improve soon.